Destruction of ecosystems, floods, pollution, energy threats... are all environmental consequences that could be "unprecedented" after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, said Wednesday (June 7th) several experts and environmental associations.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who accuses Russia of being "guilty of brutal ecocide", this "is the biggest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades".

The term ecocide has recently been defined by the European Parliament as any "environmental criminal offence causing serious and widespread or lasting or irreversible damage to air, soil or water quality, or to biodiversity, ecosystem services and functions, animals or plants". At the end of March, Brussels paved the way for the recognition of "ecocide" in EU law.

See also War in Ukraine: the Kakhovka dam, weapon of mass destruction?

Endangered fauna and flora

The first consequence, linked to the discharge of the 18 billion tons of water held by the dam, the Dnieper, the fourth longest river in Europe, will suffer a serious disruption of its ecosystems up to the coastal areas of the Black Sea, estimates the Ukrainian NGO Ecoaction.

According to her, a "potential mass mortality of aquatic organisms (fish, molluscs, crustaceans, microorganisms, aquatic vegetation)" but also rodents, some of which are endemic or already threatened, is expected, "leading to a deterioration of water quality due to the decomposition of dead organisms".

Domestic or captive animals are also at risk, says the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which already reports a "disastrous situation". "Shelters are already overwhelmed by rescue requests. In Nova Kakhovka (...) a small zoo was completely flooded – all the animals, except the swans, died," said Natalia Gozak, IFAW Ukraine manager.

Vegetation will not be spared either, especially that upstream of the dam which "will die due to drainage, while downstream areas will be flooded, including steppe and forest complexes that are not adapted to submersion, which will lead to their waterlogging and destruction," Ecoaction predicts.

Several Ukrainian national nature parks, including the UNESCO-listed Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, are directly threatened.

Climate migrants

Massive pollution resulting from the dumping of garbage, agrochemicals and other hazardous materials, as well as flooding and deactivation of sewage and sewage systems, is also expected.

According to Ukrainian officials, 150 tons of motor oil spilled into the Dnieper on Tuesday, "with the risk of an additional 300 tons infiltrating," representing "a threat to fauna and flora."

"More than 40,000 people are at risk of being in flooded areas," Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin warned on Tuesday, announcing mass evacuations.

The Kakhovka Dam is also used to provide drinking water and irrigation for the southern part of Ukraine, already one of the driest in the country. Its destruction therefore poses a major risk to the water supply of millions of people.

This water shortage could lead to desertification of some areas, IFAW believes. "The rotting biomass of aquatic flora and fauna will turn into arid, even desert, lands in the coming months," Gozak said, resulting in a change in microclimates and temperatures, which could lead to "a wave of new climate and water migrants in other parts of Ukraine and Europe."

Threats to electricity and grain production

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by the Russian army, is once again weakened after the destruction of the dam, whose water is used to cool the fuel and avoid a nuclear accident.

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"The cooling of the plant is currently provided by water pumped from purpose-built basins on site. There is no short-term risk for the plant," reassured the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) on Wednesday.

The fears are more economic. "The lack of cooling for the six reactors means that the plant will not be operational in the foreseeable future, resulting in a loss of about 13% of Ukraine's power generation capacity," said Malte Janssen of the University of Sussex Business School.

The damage is also likely to affect agriculture and livestock, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster. Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain suppliers.

With AFP

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